A Little Over The Top, Oil, 5x7

When you're stressed, you can't hide it. I've been avoiding Daily Painting lately because I knew they wouldn't be good. I've been frantically searching for a new studio, and I have a 'perimeter' in mind that I won't go beyond. It was so expensive (gas-wise) to commute to my old studio (which is still full of work and supplies) that I've decided to limit my distance to a 15 minute ride. Not much out there, but we were supposed to have access to our building till at least Nov. 1. Now I find out they've been breaking into our studios to see how far along we are in terms of moving out, and they expect us out SATURDAY. So here's my poor little ill-planned daily painting. 'Over the top' because that's where this rose is heading! I was more interested in the little vase, but still. Been painting plein air (see Studio Blog) when I'm not searching want ads, craigs' list and bulletin boards for studio space. (Whine, whine, whine, I know!) Anyway, I painted this little gal with paint all the way around the sides, so I can just hang a wire on the inside and it will lay flat against a wall, no need for a frame.

Oh, yes, and I am looking at studio space this afternoon (more than I wanted to pay, less than she wanted to get...) so wish me luck!

A Summer Gift, 5x7, Acrylic

This was waiting for me from Tim after a long day at my Open Studio on Saturday. Sometimes the best gifts are the simplest. These flowers were from a neighbor named Bill whose house I painted (which sold to someone else at the Opening of my show) I think I called it "Purple Sage". I had wanted to do a longer canvas/board, something like a 6x12, but I'm all out - thank goodness Dick Blick is having a canvas sale! Hoping to paint plein air today, maybe I'll even get a Daily Painting out of it!

Two Cherries, Four Currants, Acrylic 6x6

Bounty from the garden - the cherry tomatoes look huge and motherly compared to the tiny currant tomatoes! Soon the yellow cherry tomatoes will be ready, and I'll paint them, I'm sure. I was happy with how loose I was able to keep this, considering I was a ball of tension when I started - not wound down yet from our Open Studios Tour this weekend. The tomatoes are so welcome but I hate that they signal the 'back half' of summer. I need to make a list of the things I wanted to accomplish this summer, to get back on track!

Cactus Pear Margarita, Anyone? 6x6 Oil

Last night my husband brought home deliciously ripe cactus pears from the Fruit Center Marketplace in Milton. They're hard to find where we live, and it was such a treat. Just slice the very top off and scoop out the sweet plum-like fruit for a nice portable snack, OR.... make margaritas with them! I was playing with quick, thick paint here, not fussing if my outlines remained. I think the effect is fun, and, I hope, happy.

"...Do As The Romas Do" Oil, 6x6

SOLD

Maybe it's a good thing if we all 'do as the Romas do' here and lean on each other when we need to! I seem to require a lot of support and affirmation from my family and friends to be able to paint. If everything's not good, my painting isn't good either. Well, I feel like I'm 'back' in terms of feeling comfortable with my 'Painting A Day', and not trying to do more than a simple painting. I love the muscularity of Roma tomatoes, and they require such little care!

Happy Birds, acrylic 6x6

These are those little salt & pepper shakers I love. They do seem happy, and it was fun to paint them on a yellow-y cloth. Very windy day, but I did manage to plein air paint at the beach (or at least get one started!). I'll post it on my studio blog tomorrow. Gearing up for our big Open Studio Tour at Westport Rivers Vineyard. If you're 'lucky' enough ;) to be on my email list, I'll be sending out directions, etc. tomorrow, too.

What Do You Want On Your Burger? Acrylic 4x6

I'm putting this up just to share that I've been doing Daily Paintings... but this one is BAD! So it's NOT for sale, and it's just here to prove that when you are thinking of something else you don't do a good job! I was chomping at the bit to work on my third Sunflower painting - see my Studio Blog to the right, and I just threw any old setup together - it wasn't even fun, and it shows. OK. Tomorrow's another day, right? :)

Molly's Rose, acrylic 6x12

Tim picked this rose for our daughter and I loved the subtle colors together. Roses are so hardy, and prolific... such a great plant when they 'take'! My success rate is one out of two, though. This is a pink & orange rose, spectacular at every stage.

Sunflower Riot, 6x12 oil on Bristol Board

Taking my cue from Mary Sheehan Winn's Blog (see link to the right) where she talks about travelling far and wide for subject matter, when it's 'all' right in front of you, I went into the garden yesterday morning and plunked myself down in front of the sunflowers planted by the birds. See, if you feed the birds sunflower seeds, they repay you by planting some of them. These are growing on the perimeter of the tomato garden - perfect placement! Yesterday had a beautiful blue sky and I loved the blue I found in my paintbag - Horizon Blue by Holbein. I don't remember buying it but I'm in love with the color. Being New England, today couldn't bee more different, with the morning fog swirling around in violent wind, whitecaps on the river - these pretty sunflowers are bent to the ground! Ah, well, they had a lot of life yesterday, and I think I 'got' it.

Snow in Hull, 6x8 Oil

Since it was so sticky today, I decided to paint a SNOW painting. Went to the studio (where they have demolished the two studios on my right, Joan Brancale's and Diane Scott's) only to encounter the whole building roped off with crime scene tape, and guys in HAZMAT suits and respirators crawling all over the place.

"Is it safe for me to work in my studio?" "OH, SURE!" Well, I did my Daily Painting and working on a couple of things, but really had to leave early.... I was uncomfortable. Sooo glad I paid my rent for August - I probably will not be able to use my space at all!

Anyway I love Hull, and this scene was at sunset at the house I lived in for 2 winters on the ocean there ... wonderful place.

Life is JUST..... 6x6 Acrylic

If not a whole BOWL of cherries, then at least a few choice ones! These were the start of my foray back in to Dailies....

Opening At Westport Rivers Vineyard

Well, we had a very nice night at the Opening for our show, which runs through Sept. 10. Denise and I (below) were sweltering, as the a/c didn't want to cool the room... (hence our 'glow'). But lots of relatives and friends of ours came to make the evening special.

And my son Rory and his girlfriend Akilah came despite her not feeling too well....

And my son Conor was there for the entire 3 hour sweltering evening, he's talking to Denise' friend Millie.

Then my sister (in pain from a horrible ruptured disk) stoically braved the heat and the lack of chairs to show suport...

My pal Bonnie drove down from Hingham (well, John drove, but you know what I mean!)

Old friends Janet and Robert Kingan from Hingham ran into John Riley (also from Hingham)...

And these are a few shots of the paintings we hung.......

Putting on a show like this is a little like organizing a small wedding (except an hour before I was supposed to be there was the first time I thought about what I was wearing that night). There's an incredible about of work, not to mention the fact that I was painting right up until the day before we hung the show! It's very unlike a show at a real Gallery where THEY plan and hang and send out invitations, organize the refreshments, etc. THAT is starting to sound really good to me! But I hope if you see the show you enjoy it. Both Denise and I will be there all day on August 18 and 19, for the Open Studio Tour. I'd love to see you all!

The Show is HUNG!!

I may or may not get to post today, but I wanted you guys to know our Westport Rivers Show is hung and ready to go! Here's the link for directions to this beautiful vineyard. There are tastings and fun tours there. It's about 5 minutes from wonderful Horseneck Beach (dunes, white, soft sand) and a couple of fun restaurants (Bayside, Back Eddy, Handy Farm Ice Cream). http://www.westportrivers.com/visit-index.htm Our blogsite to the Couth Coast Studio tour is http://zompamacdonald.blogspot.com/. Denise's oil painting of a Westport Marsh is on the bottom, my painting of Prudence Island Ferries is on the top. Wish us LUCK!

Sunflowers, 6x6 Acrylic

I've probably been going on and on about how preoccupied I am with my upcoming show, and eviction from our studio building... I feel it's been interfering with my painting in general. Today I happened upon David Darrow's Blog (just google it!) and he was talking about a friend of his who was 'blocked'. His solution was to stop worrying about painting and just paint - plan on doing some crappy work, but do it joyfully, and see what happens. Well, I tried it this morning... and this is what happened! I'm really liking how loose it came out, and I like it on my French table runner with the coral & blue border. Thank you, David!

Ready for Dinner, Acrylic, 6x6

A 1 a.m. painting... both these and the Dutch shoes look better in real life. Sorry for the 'double' post today, all you who get it via email... I didn't post yesterday, and who knows what tomorrow will bring? I'm hanging the show on Wednesday, so it's a bit crazy!

Dutch Shoes, 6x6 Acrylic

SOLD

While these ARE loosely painted, I think the photo is a bit blurry. Well, I painted them at midnight last night (one 'plus' for insomnia) and maybe was SEEING this way. I wanted the Dutch shoes in every color, but really, what would I have done with them all?

Farewell, Macarons! 6x6 Acrylic

These macaroon cookies are from Laduree in Paris.. I brought back ELEVEN (onze) boxes to give out as gifts, but some people I just never connected with, and, well, it's been a month with no preservatives.... So I decided to paint them. They came in lucious flavors - too many to remember, but each was better than the last! So rich you could only eat ONE at a sitting - no, really, even me! So now that there's no more macaroons... someone needs to go BACK to Paris to get more, right?

Thanks for all your well-wishes about the Studio Search.

I know something good is out there for me!

Aqua Chicks, Acrylic 6x6 on canvas block

These little chick salt & pepper shakers were at a little shop in Boston's North End, just waiting for me. When Tim looked at me, one eyebrow raised - like "What would you use THOSE for?" (because where I live salt gets all hard asap due to the humidity) I knew I had to do a Daily Painting (or more) of them. I like them on this purple background, too.

If I'm a little scattered, less reliable for my daily paintings these days it's because 1) I'm getting ready for the Vineyard Show in a week, and 2) see below - this is what I see when I go to my studio these days. The demolition of the building is imminent, even though we were told it would be after the 1st of the year (next year). They said we could continue to occupy the building while they tear the asbestos shingles off.... I don't think so.... so I'm frantically searching for (and dreaming of) new studio space.

Dutch Trees, Oil 5x6

These trees in Holland were so perfect and all in a row... the foggy morning we arrived I took some shots of them and have been meaning to paint them. I also am working on Japanese Irises in my Studio Blog http://welcometomyartworld.blogspot.com/ . Trying to get ready for the Westport Vineyard Show next week. :)

Oh, and check out Paula Villanova's new blog (link on the right)!

Cosmos, Oil 6x6

Like everyone else, I guess, we grow Cosmos. I never really thought that much of them till I started seeing people do Daily Paintings of them. Now I have a new set of blue/green milkglass type vases, and I'm going to see if I can do some daily paintings with them. This is the smallest vase, and the brightest color of Cosmos. Just happy!

Turf Discussion, oil 5x7

These roosters were hanging out at Westport Point last fall and I've been thinking about painting them ever since. I liked their interaction, as well as their stark colors. Sorry I've been a bit of a slacker since my travels. Came home to find the 'end' of my studio time in Rockland is imminent, not the first of the year as was initially indicated. So I've been very much grieving my studio, while trying desperately to find affordable space closer to home. If anyone has any ideas or tips.... I'd love them!

Now THAT's A Tiny Tomato, Oil, 6x8

Last Summer I tasted Currant Tomatoes for the first time - they are just miniscule! So we are growing them this year. Compared to cherries they're teeny. I was playing with neutrals and reds, of things inside glass, and outside of it. Just a fun day in the studio (you'd think I didn't have a SHOW coming up in 2 weeks...). Also using Carol Marine's recipe for Painting Medium, and I loved how smoothly the paint slid off the brush. Thanks, Carol.

Crescent Moon, 8x10 Oil

***This is NOT a Daily Painting, but I'm including it to show I actually have been working!***

The Cats had escaped, and Harry was among the missing for a couple of hours last night. It's a huge game with him, and eluding me is his 'mission', so I decided to relax a bit and paint a nocturne while I was waiting for his hunger to kick in. This is the scene that unfolded over Aquidneck Island and I was thrilled to be able to work on a nocturne. Harry came back when it was no longer fun to hide from me, and in the meantime I was thinking of Charles Sovek and his 'rivers of light' that indicate the currents in the water. I think of Sovek often these days, as I was fully intending to try to take another workshop with him next Summer, and now that he's passed away, that chance is gone. Yet another in a seemingly endless stream of reminders that life is transitory, and we need to stop putting things that we want to do off...

**This is a horrible photo of this piece.. will try for a better one today!

Garden Roses, 5x7, Acrylic

When is a rose NOT just a rose? When you've been cultivating them for 3 years, through plagues of bugs, black rot and mildew! These babies are killers for scent (the yellow ones) and elegance. To top things off we (and here I mean HE) painted the back door a gorgeous purple - the Chinese say a purple door invites good fortune. Anyway I put my roses up against it and it begged to be painted. I think oils would have been great, too, but it's very hot and humid, so I wanted a quick clean up!

Well, I've been struggling since I've gotten back, to paint my 'Dailies'. Everything came out wrong. Of course, I was also getting ready for the Plein Air Show I'm in at Gallery 297 this month in Bristol, RI. I have nine pieces hung there, plus the "Oil on Water" show - I'll post the painting from that on my studio blog. So I've been framing and carting things around, and it's been a plethora (!) of birthdays, and I'll always be ready to celebrate a birthday! So LIFE has been hectic, but with all good things, and now I'm back in the saddle, so to speak ;)

Sketchbook from Trip

Just to show that I haven't been a complete slacker, here's some of the quick sketches from my trip. I didn't bring my paints (God, I brought TEN pair of shoes - hey, I have bad feet!) because it would have been too much to lug! Anyway, here's the view from our B&B in Fronsac. The actual 'chateau' we stayed at...

The road to the next chateau/vineyard....

And now we're in Paris.. 1/3 of the Arc de Triumph

Eiffel Tower... THAT I can spell...

This was from sketchbook #2.... all France. I also sketched in Spain, but mostly goofy stuff. Dogs, people eating, etc. Trying today to get a Daily Painting going. I have vowed to step up to the plate in July, and I will. Maybe the profuse roses from the garden.... Hope you are all enjoying your Summer!

Where've I BEEN?

First, I apologise for going 'dark' on my blog, but as a 30th anniversary gift, Tim took me to France :)))). First, however, he had business in Madrid, so I took that opportunity to visit Sorolla's house. If you've never seen Joaquin Sorolla's work, you should google him. He painted in Spain, but visited the works of the impressionists in Paris. He's the original 'girl on the beach in a white dress' guy, which has been copied so much it's 'cheesy' now, but his pieces are large and gorgeous. And his family turned his home into a museum of his life and work. OK, Spanish business done, we headed for Bordeaux. Apparently not too many Americans invade (pardon the not-funny pun) this area, many German visitors, and British, but it's largely ignored (and ssssssshhhhhh, only we'll know how awesome it and it's wine is!) by Americans! We visited the town of St. Emilion and were completely charmed...

And last, but not least, we hit PARIS, where we 'marathoned' on art and architecture! I'll post some of my sketches tomorrow, I have had a brain-scramble in my computer, and it's taken me days to figure out how to post the photo I've chosen (the computer kept selecting a different one - like you want to see me drinking kir, or the French pug I took pictures of!). Once again, thanks for looking!

NOT a Daily Painting, but...

Tim planted these gorgeous black irises (which I didn't want but now I LOVE) and I'm working on a 16x20 plein air painting (see bottom photo). Still have to work on the background and the leaves, but.... we cut one of the stems and put it in our kitchen (right near the sink where I clean my brushes, etc) and for the past couple of days I've been berating myself for being so SLOPPY with my paints, there have been drips of deep, deep violet on the counter and on things AROUND the counter - and I just found out that theses flowers DRIP some kind of painty/ink that looks and acts just like deep violet acrylic paint! WHO KNEW? So ... one less thing I can yell at myself about. These are amazing flowers that look black until the light hits them and then they have this magenta/violet that glows going on...

SO sorry about the lack of Daily Paintings... I'm getting ready for a Plein Air Show in Bristol at Gallery 297 (Opening July 7th... please, please come if you are in the area!) as well as my show at Westport Rivers Vineyard, local art competitions and my ANNIVERSARY TRIP to Paris (30th anniversary - yay!) with Tim! I'll be back on the Daily Painting Trail in July, I promise, promise, promise.

Gerber Daisy, 6x6 Acrylic

These were the flowers I brought to sit on the table at the Beacon Hill Artwalk. I haven't killed them yet, so I thought last night I'd paint them. It's funny, but pink to me is a hard color to paint, in acrylic or in oil - I am never satisfied with the brightness or richness of the color.

First Bite, 6x6 Acrylic

SOLD

A little bit of glare, as you can see, but this was a particularly tasty watermelon and I had to paint it! Seedless, and I find often that these don't have quite the flavor of the seeded ones. It was great to paint today, after taking the week getting ready for the Beacon Hill Art Walk, which was yesterday. I think this was my last BH Artwalk, as bad weather and low sales combined two years in a row to make it not quite worth it. We'll have to see. It was fun to be with Mary Sheehan Winn (see side bar for bloglink), Joan Brancale, Nancy Colella and Tatiana Sink.

I'd like to mention here **** that the July/August issue of American Artist features my buddy Nancy Colella in a great article, and **** in the Spring/Summer issue of Cape Cod Life/Arts Edition there is a beautiful article about my girlfriend Joan Brancale and her work - check them out!

******************edited for better photo of painting***************

Beach Roses, 4x6, Oil

SOLD

Today was gray and threatening, but I went to Horseneck Beach anyway to buy a beach pass, so I could paint there whenever and not have to worry about having cash (I never do). Of course the beach wasn't 'open' (staffed) yet, so I went for a walk, and the sun came out! So I had to paint... been neglecting my 'daily' paintings - with a million 'good' excuses, I swear! Well, these beach roses demanded my attention, and I was happy to give it to them...

Mother's Day, 6x6 Oil

I figured it was time to paint flowers other than tulips! I find flowers a real challenge, and so tend to avoid them. These roses were a gift on Mothers' Day from my oldest son, Rory, who is so thoughtful and always good to me - he knows how much I love to have fresh flowers on my table! So this is the first pass at the roses, and I will do more before my stint at Boston's Beacon Hill Artwalk http://www.beaconhillartwalk.org/ where I will be on Sunday June 3rd. I'd love to see any of you if you're in the area... best be for parking would be the garage under the Common. My Daily Paintings will be for sale there - at a higher cost, due to my own increased cost. HOWEVER, if you mention to me that you saw a painting on the Blog and wanted to see it in person before buying it, I will give you the Blog price of $100, unframed! At any rate, come say 'Hello'!